Erase que se era una vez ... hace mucho tiempo ... there was a little girl named Atesta that lived in a far far away land around the 19N, 99W coordinates on planet Earth. She was 11 years old. This little girl was not an ordinary girl. She grew up in an area that had been covered by 2 back-to-back major volcanic eruptions over the last 100 years. These events created a strange and hard to define landscape. Beautiful forests with rocky outcrops of frozen lava here and there. Rivers, waterfalls, and ponds with water coming in and out of the mountains. Beautiful caves that formed a labyrinthic playground up and down the hills.
For the girl, this was home and there was nothing special or different about the area that surrounded her village, other than she knew deep inside her that she had a special connection to all that surrounded her. She didn't know why she knew but she knew it best every time she played in the caves.
During each of the volcanic eruptions, rivers of lava poured down the mountain and created layers of porous rock as it cooled. The network of caves, subterranean rivers and chambers it created had slowly become part of the spiritual make up of her village. Over the years, there have been a number of unexplainable events and people began to attribute them to a higher power, as it is often the case when things are not well understood. Some people simply called them anomalies, discontinuities, reality warps, and sometimes even portals. But all of these were just stories that people loved to tell when they got together for some event in town.
Atesta loved to go explore in the caves with her dog Pichicuaz. The combination of nature's incredible beauty, the surreal nature of the village's legends, and the special feelings she felt when playing and swimming in and out of the caves was just too much to pass.
Today was Atesta's 12th birthday. She loved her birthdays because they always fell on the same day as the village's celebration of the dead. In the village, the day of the dead meant music, food, games, and the best part, spending time with her grandmother, her mom, and all the cousins, uncles and aunts. They would all go to the cemetery with food, drinks, sweets, and a guitar to tell stories about those that had gone.
For Atesta, this was a special time because it was the day that the village would remember her father. The day when people would tell stories about him, his adventures, and all the crazy things he used to do. Sometimes she would also hear stories she had never heard before.
It had only been two years and Atesta still felt his presence. She knew he was around, and with her, somehow but she could not explain why. She knew he was still alive.
Atesta and her father were inseparable from the day she was born. Her family always talked about how it was like the too of them knew things that the outside world didn't. It was like they knew what needed to be done next without speaking. Just a glance and they both knew.
It had been two full years since Atesta's father had disappeared. Atesta had fallen gravely ill. The curandero did not understand why or how to help her. There was nothing to do but hope that her body would fight the disease somehow. Things got worse.
Atesta's father did not leave her bedside for days. He would hold her hand and sing to her all the songs they would sing while exploring the caves and the woods. Her favorite was the song they always sang as they were starting a new route. It always filled her with a sense of complete connection with everything.
At some point, Atesta was not able to wake up anymore. She had not opened her eyes in several days and her breathing was very shallow. Through the fog, she remembered how her dad, crying, would ask the curandero if there was anything else that could be done. The story in the village is that at that moment the curandero told Atesta's father an old story that his grandfather had told him about a place beyond the caves, but in the caves, that had the only thing that can help Atesta at this time. This place beyond the caves had a thing that would completely reset a human body.
Atesta's father told her mom that he would set out to find this place. That he would not stop until he found this thing and brought it back.
So with this, he hugged Atesta for a long-time and whispered something in her ear. Nobody knows what he said, but people remember that Atesta in that moment opened her eyes and smiled. With her hand on his face she also said something inaudible to him. And he smiled.
To be continued ....
For the girl, this was home and there was nothing special or different about the area that surrounded her village, other than she knew deep inside her that she had a special connection to all that surrounded her. She didn't know why she knew but she knew it best every time she played in the caves.
During each of the volcanic eruptions, rivers of lava poured down the mountain and created layers of porous rock as it cooled. The network of caves, subterranean rivers and chambers it created had slowly become part of the spiritual make up of her village. Over the years, there have been a number of unexplainable events and people began to attribute them to a higher power, as it is often the case when things are not well understood. Some people simply called them anomalies, discontinuities, reality warps, and sometimes even portals. But all of these were just stories that people loved to tell when they got together for some event in town.
Atesta loved to go explore in the caves with her dog Pichicuaz. The combination of nature's incredible beauty, the surreal nature of the village's legends, and the special feelings she felt when playing and swimming in and out of the caves was just too much to pass.
Today was Atesta's 12th birthday. She loved her birthdays because they always fell on the same day as the village's celebration of the dead. In the village, the day of the dead meant music, food, games, and the best part, spending time with her grandmother, her mom, and all the cousins, uncles and aunts. They would all go to the cemetery with food, drinks, sweets, and a guitar to tell stories about those that had gone.
For Atesta, this was a special time because it was the day that the village would remember her father. The day when people would tell stories about him, his adventures, and all the crazy things he used to do. Sometimes she would also hear stories she had never heard before.
It had only been two years and Atesta still felt his presence. She knew he was around, and with her, somehow but she could not explain why. She knew he was still alive.
Atesta and her father were inseparable from the day she was born. Her family always talked about how it was like the too of them knew things that the outside world didn't. It was like they knew what needed to be done next without speaking. Just a glance and they both knew.
It had been two full years since Atesta's father had disappeared. Atesta had fallen gravely ill. The curandero did not understand why or how to help her. There was nothing to do but hope that her body would fight the disease somehow. Things got worse.
Atesta's father did not leave her bedside for days. He would hold her hand and sing to her all the songs they would sing while exploring the caves and the woods. Her favorite was the song they always sang as they were starting a new route. It always filled her with a sense of complete connection with everything.
At some point, Atesta was not able to wake up anymore. She had not opened her eyes in several days and her breathing was very shallow. Through the fog, she remembered how her dad, crying, would ask the curandero if there was anything else that could be done. The story in the village is that at that moment the curandero told Atesta's father an old story that his grandfather had told him about a place beyond the caves, but in the caves, that had the only thing that can help Atesta at this time. This place beyond the caves had a thing that would completely reset a human body.
Atesta's father told her mom that he would set out to find this place. That he would not stop until he found this thing and brought it back.
So with this, he hugged Atesta for a long-time and whispered something in her ear. Nobody knows what he said, but people remember that Atesta in that moment opened her eyes and smiled. With her hand on his face she also said something inaudible to him. And he smiled.
To be continued ....
